ESM is a strength-focused index, meaning that it is best used to help us understand the strength of the current economy, as opposed to the direction in which the economy is moving, i.e., strong economies may be well-rooted, but may not have significant momentum, and vice-versa. Another of Saratoga's proprietary indexes, the Economic Leading Statistics® index,

The index has historically helped us to figure out whether, and to what degree, the Federal Reserve is likely to adjust the Federal Funds Rate in the near future.